1 14 Botanical Notices from Spain, 



of the Jenil and Darro, and forms an offshoot of the Sierra Nevada. 

 The south side of this rock, which consists of disintegrated lime- 

 stone, as well as the other hills, is covered with thick bushes of 

 Opuntia vulgaris, which are now in flower, and whose fruit yield a 

 favourite food to the lower classes. Interspersed are everywhere seen 

 the Agave americana, which is here quite wild and very generally now 

 in bloom. For instance, I have seen in the environs of the Capella 

 San Miguel, on the southern slope of the valley of the Darro, more 

 than twenty specimens together in a small space, whose flowering 

 stems reached a height of 12 to 20 feet. Both plants ascend in the 

 warm valleys of the Sierra Nevada, for instance in that of the Jenil, 

 to a height of 3000 feet. Copses of elms, impenetrable hedges of 

 Rubus fruticosus * , Bupleurum fruticosum, L., Coriaria mi/rtifolia,Ij., 

 interspersed with Lonicera etrusca, Santi, Clematis cirrhosa, DeC, 

 CI. Flammula, L,, and other climbers, clothe the northern slopes of 

 the valleys ; whilst the arid, sunny hills, destitute of all shrubby ve- 

 getation, are covered with a number of Lahiatce (several Thymi and 

 Teucria, especially T. Folium, L., Ballota hirsuta, Bth., Origanum 

 virens, Lk. and Hoffmsegg.), accompanied by several species of 

 Ononis, Rubiacece and Compositce, as an Andryala, Delphinium pere- 

 grinum, L., Ruta montana, Clus., R. angustifolia, L., Antirrhinum 

 molle, L., &c. On shady walls — frequent for instance on the walls 

 of the Alhambra as well as on the aqueducts — grows the 7Va- 



* This Rubus, the only species which I have hitherto met with in Spain, 

 but which seems to be everywhere frequent, belongs to the Rubus digitati- 

 follis, in the Div. II.** R. candicantes of Reichenbach's ' Flora,' and is 

 very different to the R.fruticosus, L., which belongs to the Div. I., as well 

 as to the species in Div. II. Boissier enumerates it in his Voyage, under 

 No. 601, as R fruticosiis, L., v/ithout adding any remark. I regard it as 

 new, and propose to call it R. kispanicus. 



R. hispanicus, turionum fol. omnibus quinato-digitatis, foliolis oblongo- 

 lanceolatis, caulis florifevi fol. ternatis, foliolis oblongis aut ellipticis, late- 

 ralibus saepe bilobis, corymbo composito erecto muilifloro, floribus amplis 

 roseis, calyce frnctifero reflexo, mora mediocri atra nitida ex acinis parvis 

 nnmerosis compcsita, dulcissima. Frutex 12-pedalis et ultra, turionibus 

 longissiinis decurvatis .5-angularibus subtomentosis infra purpurascentibus 

 superne lajte-virescentibus, fol. omnibus supra obscure virentibus subtus 

 albo-tomentosis, aculeis conformibus recurvis numerosis, calyce peduncu- 

 lisque divergentibus cano-tomentosis, laciniis calycis ovatis ,petalis calyce 

 duplo longioribus obovatis roseis. DifTert a R. fruticoso, L., foliolis tomen- 

 tosis oblongis nee glabris cordato-ovatis, corymbo composito nee simplici, 

 turionibus tomentosis decurvatis nee glabris erectis, petalis roseis nee albis ; 

 a R. discolore, Whe., cui maxime affinis, foliolis turionum oblongo-lanceo- 

 latis nee suborbicularibus, aculeis recurvatis nee rectiusculis, mora aterrima 

 nee atro-caerulea. — I have frequently observed this beautiful species (Mo. 157 

 of my Spanish Plants), which forms impenetrable and entangled hedges, and 

 bears flowers and fruit in uncommon abundance (the bunches of fruit attain 

 the length of one foot), around Valencia, in the Sierra de Chiva, in Murcia, in 

 the Mancha near Aranjuez, Madrid and Escurial, and in Andalusia, where 

 they grow in the valleys of the Sierra Nevada up to a height of 4300 feet, and 

 are common, especially in the environs of the village of Guejar. In Anda- 

 lusia this Rubus bears the name of ' Sarza mora.' 



